School Massacre

Every gun massacre is horrible, but this seems worst of all. If the preliminary reports are true, a gunman (or perhaps gunmen?) might have massacred an entire kindergarten class at an elementary school in Connecticut. At least 18 children and eight adults are reported dead in the attack, and at this point there are more questions than answers. Could it be terrorism? A lone madman? A deranged parent who had some grievance? (UPDATE at 2:50 pm: Latest reports suggest the shooter killed his mother, a kindergarten teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, and possibly her class)

A year after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, proposals to change the controversial Stand Your Ground law are dead in the state Legislature. “Repeal of Stand Your Ground or major modifications of Stand Your Ground I don't think get past the first committee,” said Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. He responded to questions about guns and school safety on Monday in an interview with Sun Sentinel reporters and editors at the newspaper's Editorial Board. Stand Your Ground has received intense scrutiny since the February, 26, 2012, death of Martin, a Miami Gardens 17 year old, in the central Florida city of Sanford.

Special prayers will be recited for the victims of the Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre at more than 100 churches across South Florida this weekend, the Miami Catholic Archdiocese said. There are 105 catholic churches and missions in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, spokeswoman Mary Ross-Agosta said. "[Our pastors] will be including it in the Prayer of the Faithful at their parishes at every mass," she said. "Some of our parishes have six, seven or eight masses so we know it will be a prayerful weekend.

A plan to ask Broward voters if they want to increase property taxes to improve school security won approval Tuesday from the county's state legislators. The proposal, sponsored by state Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, now moves to Tallahassee. If approved by the Florida House, Senate and governor, Broward voters would be asked in the August 2014 primary if they want to increase taxes to pay for police in all county public schools and provide mental health referrals for students and school staff.

Forget about why. Right now, the question bothering me most is "How?" How could anybody, no matter how mentally ill or depraved, gun down an entire classroom of kindergarteners? How does someone keep shooting without some semblance of remorse — or humanity — kicking in? How does a brain get so scrambled that it could wipe out that many innocent young lives — 20 kids — and six other adults at the school, in such a heinous final act? "We're not anywhere near Connecticut, but right now I'm feeling numb," Michele Harmer said Friday.

In South Florida's middle and high schools, police officers have long been considered necessities. In elementary schools, they're often viewed as luxuries. But the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandyhook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., has fueled a debate over whether more officers are needed to protect grade school children, and who should pay for them in an era of constant budget cuts. There have been calls for putting a tax on guns and ammunition or a fee on concealed weapons permits to pay for more resource officers.

Gov. Rick Scott made a quick stop at Fort Lauderdale High School Thursday morning meeting with students and promising them he'd try to put more money into education this year. He also said he'd ask the state's new education commissioner to review the new teacher evaluation system and "make sure it's fair. " "We have to make sure we have the right funding and make sure we have the right measurement," Scott said. Among the priorities this year, Scott said he wanted to make sure teachers were spending less money out of their own pockets and that they were getting the professional training they needed.

The Sandy Hook massacre was horrible and tragic. However, the news media and the politicians are once again in a panic mode to "fix" things that either cannot be fixed or do not need fixing. They talk about making our schools safer. All statistics show that our schools, in general, are extremely safe. The statistical probability of a school massacre in America is a one-in-1,000-year event. There is no way, in a country of over 300 million people, to prevent a dozen or so individuals from doing horrible things.

A year after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, proposals to change the controversial Stand Your Ground law are dead in the state Legislature. “Repeal of Stand Your Ground or major modifications of Stand Your Ground I don't think get past the first committee,” said Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. He responded to questions about guns and school safety on Monday in an interview with Sun Sentinel reporters and editors at the newspaper's Editorial Board. Stand Your Ground has received intense scrutiny since the February, 26, 2012, death of Martin, a Miami Gardens 17 year old, in the central Florida city of Sanford.

A plan to ask Broward voters if they want to increase property taxes to improve school security won approval Tuesday from the county's state legislators. The proposal, sponsored by state Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, now moves to Tallahassee. If approved by the Florida House, Senate and governor, Broward voters would be asked in the August 2014 primary if they want to increase taxes to pay for police in all county public schools and provide mental health referrals for students and school staff.

The Sandy Hook massacre was horrible and tragic. However, the news media and the politicians are once again in a panic mode to "fix" things that either cannot be fixed or do not need fixing. They talk about making our schools safer. All statistics show that our schools, in general, are extremely safe. The statistical probability of a school massacre in America is a one-in-1,000-year event. There is no way, in a country of over 300 million people, to prevent a dozen or so individuals from doing horrible things.

Amid all the talk about gun control and mental health reform, one important question begged by last month's tragedy in Connecticut has gone unasked: Is there anything we can do about the structure of education that might help lower the risk of another school massacre? I believe there is - and a poignant story (and some very interesting research data) will help explain why. Two of my children once attended a small private school in a town where we had just moved. Early in the fall semester, another new kid at that school - a boy with Asperger's Syndrome who would now be 19 or 20 years old - had several emotional "meltdowns" as he sought to adjust to his new routine. This unsettling behavior caused some school officials, and a number of concerned parents, to wonder if our school was equipped to handle the challenges presented by this student (whom I'll call "Bradley")

Gov. Rick Scott made a quick stop at Fort Lauderdale High School Thursday morning meeting with students and promising them he'd try to put more money into education this year. He also said he'd ask the state's new education commissioner to review the new teacher evaluation system and "make sure it's fair. " "We have to make sure we have the right funding and make sure we have the right measurement," Scott said. Among the priorities this year, Scott said he wanted to make sure teachers were spending less money out of their own pockets and that they were getting the professional training they needed.

In South Florida's middle and high schools, police officers have long been considered necessities. In elementary schools, they're often viewed as luxuries. But the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandyhook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., has fueled a debate over whether more officers are needed to protect grade school children, and who should pay for them in an era of constant budget cuts. There have been calls for putting a tax on guns and ammunition or a fee on concealed weapons permits to pay for more resource officers.

Every gun massacre is horrible, but this seems worst of all. If the preliminary reports are true, a gunman (or perhaps gunmen?) might have massacred an entire kindergarten class at an elementary school in Connecticut. At least 18 children and eight adults are reported dead in the attack, and at this point there are more questions than answers. Could it be terrorism? A lone madman? A deranged parent who had some grievance? (UPDATE at 2:50 pm: Latest reports suggest the shooter killed his mother, a kindergarten teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, and possibly her class)

Special prayers will be recited for the victims of the Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre at more than 100 churches across South Florida this weekend, the Miami Catholic Archdiocese said. There are 105 catholic churches and missions in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, spokeswoman Mary Ross-Agosta said. "[Our pastors] will be including it in the Prayer of the Faithful at their parishes at every mass," she said. "Some of our parishes have six, seven or eight masses so we know it will be a prayerful weekend.

Amid all the talk about gun control and mental health reform, one important question begged by last month's tragedy in Connecticut has gone unasked: Is there anything we can do about the structure of education that might help lower the risk of another school massacre? I believe there is - and a poignant story (and some very interesting research data) will help explain why. Two of my children once attended a small private school in a town where we had just moved. Early in the fall semester, another new kid at that school - a boy with Asperger's Syndrome who would now be 19 or 20 years old - had several emotional "meltdowns" as he sought to adjust to his new routine. This unsettling behavior caused some school officials, and a number of concerned parents, to wonder if our school was equipped to handle the challenges presented by this student (whom I'll call "Bradley")

The most recent mass shooting of children by children at school reminds us again that Americans of all ages have virtually unlimited access to guns. It also illustrates the bizarre national denial our country embraces every time the tragedies occur. Since school began last September, students have opened fire on their classmates in Pearl, Miss.; West Paducah, Ky.; Jonesboro, Ark.; Fayetteville, Tenn.; and now Springfield, Ore. In the wake of each shooting a national clamor ensues asking how to protect our children.

Forget about why. Right now, the question bothering me most is "How?" How could anybody, no matter how mentally ill or depraved, gun down an entire classroom of kindergarteners? How does someone keep shooting without some semblance of remorse — or humanity — kicking in? How does a brain get so scrambled that it could wipe out that many innocent young lives — 20 kids — and six other adults at the school, in such a heinous final act? "We're not anywhere near Connecticut, but right now I'm feeling numb," Michele Harmer said Friday.

For weeks a 14-year-old girl in Fort Collins, Colo., and a friend listened as two male classmates described how they planned to re-enact the shooting at Columbine High School on its second anniversary in April. The girl and her friend heard the boys tell of guns and a propane tank to be used as a bomb, and saw drawings of how the boys would block the exits to keep students from escaping. But the girl knew a friend who had a friend at Columbine, only 60 miles away. She knew what her silence could bring.